Transformative Technologies & Their Effects on Work & Society

Left to right: Professor Antony Haynes; Senator Adam Hinds; Alexis Wichowski; Ethan Zuckerman.

Transformative Technologies and
Their Effects on Work & Society

Live & on demand: watch when convenient for you!

New technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning and robotics are having a major impact on the nature of work, labor markets, education, training, economic development and many other sectors across society. Harnessing these technologies for the development of the Berkshires and other rural communities across America is critical to our region’s future.

OLLI at Berkshire Community College, in collaboration with the Berkshire Innovation Center, 1Berkshire, Williams College, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Bard College at Simon's Rock, presents an eight week webinar series exploring the advent of new technologies and their effects on work and society, especially in rural regions such as the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. The series may be watched live or on demand at a time convenient to you.

Sessions will include lectures, moderated panel discussion and participant Q&A, led by national and regional thought leaders in the subject area. Click here for resources for further reading.

Session One, September 24 - Where Are We Now and How Did We Get Here?

Elisabeth Reynolds | Director of the Center on the Work of the Future at MIT
Stephen Boyd | CEO of Boyd Technologies and Board Chair of the Berkshire Innovation Center

Session Two, October 1 - How Different Countries Respond to New Technologies

Moderator: James Rosenstein | JSR International Consulting

Session Three, October 8 - Enabling Infrastructure in the U.S. to Deliver Technology Solutions

Session Four, October 15 - The Future of Smart Manufacturing

Speaker: Farhad Vazehgoo | Acting Director, Advanced Manufacturing Programs, MassTech

Moderator: Douglas Crane | Founder and Managing Principal, New Dalton Group

Session Five, October 22 - The Future of Education

Speaker: Carla Meskill | Professor of Educational Technology, SUNY Albany

Moderator: Ellen Kennedy | President of Berkshire Community College

Panel:

Session Six, October 29 - The Future of Healthcare

Speaker:  Michael Miller, MD | Health Care and Life Sciences Policy Consultant

Moderator:  Gordon Josephson, MD

Panel

Christopher D. Sprowl, MD | Interim Medical Director, Community Health Programs
William Young | Chief Information Officer at Berkshire Health Systems
Joe Diver | Director of Digital Transformation at Baystate Health

Session Seven, November 5 - The Societal Impact of These Technologies

Speaker – Alexis Wichowski | Deputy Chief Technology Officer, NYC and author of The Information Trade

Moderator – Gerol Petruzella | MCLA Professor and Associate Director of Academic Technology

Session Eight, November 12 - Where Do We Go From Here?

Registration for the full series is $80 for 1Berkshire and Berkshire Innovation Center members, and $110 for the general public (includes a one year OLLI at BCC membership.) 

Registration is free for students, staff and faculty at Berkshire Community College, Williams College, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Bard College at Simon's Rock, as well as for WIC, EBT/SNAP and ConnectorCare card holders.

OLLI at BCC members should register via the Fall semester registration form found here.